Lee Hersh

broccoli cauliflower quinoa casserole

February 22, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

broccoli cauliflower quinoa casserole

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Pacific Foods. I was compensated, all opinions are my own.

Ah the casserole. I kid you not, here in Minnesota restaurants have these on the menu…they are everywhere! There is even a place called Haute Dish (aka Casserole) in Minneapolis.

So today, I present you a healthier spin on Cheesy broccoli cauliflower quinoa casserole fully equipped with quinoa!

Whenever Blake approves a recipe (by getting a second helping) I feel like it is necessary for me to share with you guys. Being that this is gluten free and meat free, I say Blake’s approval gives this a #winning status.

I topped my portion with some sriracha. It really did give it the perfect kick!

I’d get this on your Thanksgiving menu ASAP. And then save the recipe because you’ll want to make it next year too!

The ingredient that I am featuring in this recipe is Pacific Organic Mushroom Gravy. 1/3 cup of this gave this recipe the flavor that it needed! I’m not even the biggest fan of the texture of mushrooms, so having that great mushroom flavor in a gravy was PERFECT.

Other modifications or ad ins include: using non-dairy milk, less cheese, low-fat cheese, and adding beans!

You can pretty much find the brand Pacific Foods anywhere and everywhere….even Target!

What is your all time favorite casserole?

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broccoli cauliflower quinoa casserole

Author: Sandra

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Ingredients

Scale

1/2 medium size yellow onion, finely diced
1.5 cups cooked quinoa
2 heads of broccoli or about 1 pound
1 tablespoon butter (or sub 1 tablespoon olive oil)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/3 cup Pacific Organic Mushroom Gravy
1 cup milk (I used almond, but any kind will work)
1 cup sharp cheddar shredded cheese

Instructions

First, preheat oven to 350F and grease a medium size baking dish with butter or olive oil.
Next, in a large sauce pan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Then, add in chopped onion and sauté for about a minute. Next, add in chopped broccoli and sauté. Season with salt and pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon of each) and cook for about 3 more minutes. (Do not cook broccoli all the only, this is simply to infuse it with the flavors from the onion and to cook it about half way.)
Next, add in 1/3 cup of Pacific Organic Mushroom Gravy and 1 cup of milk and stir. Slowly add in sharp cheddar cheese and stir until combined. Finally add in quinoa and stir again.
Transfer mixture into baking dish and sprinkle on more cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until the top begins to brown.

Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie

February 22, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie recipes

Frozen fruit is the one thing Blake and I hoard in our freezer. We live in a 1200 square foot condo, so hoarding anything is quite difficult. But frozen fruit. WE GOT IT!

When in doubt, make a smoothie. Because smoothies make the world go round.

Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie #glutenfree #recipe

Like this Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie recipes. It’s….

Slightly tangy
Packed with nutrition
Gluten-Free
DELISH

Is it me or does anyone else actually crave a smoothie after a workout? Even when its -50 degrees out, I crave smoothies post gym.

Speaking of weather. Most think it’s cliche to talk about the weather, but growing up I wanted to be the weather man. Legitimately.

I secretly watch the weather channel all the time because I am obsessed with how it all works. Just think, 100 years ago radars didn’t exist. Um…every time there was a thunderstorm I’d probably go hide in my basement.

Basic Ingredients for Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie

1/2 cup strawberries, frozen
1/2 cup sliced bananas, frozen
1/2 cup kefir or Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened
splash of vanilla extract

How to make Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie

Place all ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth! Let sit for a few minutes so that the chia seeds can do their magic (expand and get slimy). Enjoy!

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Creamy Strawberry Chia Smoothie

Author: Sandra

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Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet and blend until smooth! Let sit for a few minutes so that the chia seeds can do their magic (expand and get slimy). Enjoy!

Cold Busting Smoothie

February 22, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Cold Busting Smoothie

Trying to stay healthy this winter? Make this cold-busting smoothie that’s packed with vitamin-c to help boost your immune system and keep your body feelin’ good!

Today I am excited to be partnering with Minnesota brand —> Yoplait! A lot of people don’t realize this, but Minneapolis/St. Paul is home to many of America’s Fortune 500’s including General Mills. Minnesota made is my jam. Yoplait yogurt is actually what I grew up on and ate all the time as a kid! Now that I am a Greek girl, I was excited when they came out with their Greek 100 line. What makes me even more excited is the progress Yoplait has made over the last 3 years to reduce sugar, remove high fructose corn syrup, and get rid of aspartame.

Say “I” if you’ve had the sniffles at least once this winter. ME ME MEEEE! I’ve actually been really lucky in the sick department (knock on wood) and have only really had one minor cold. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself. I like to credit my active lifestyle and the fact that I’ve been eating copious amounts of vitamin c. It’s really not hard to do, especially if you throw everything in a smoothie like this one. Slerp.

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and mix until smooth.

One of the best ways you can prevent or cure a cold is by eating as many immune-boosting foods as possible. We’re talking…

citrus
berries
leafy greens

Thus- I threw everything in my blender and whirled away. A smoothie isn’t a smoothie without some Greek yogurt to smooth things out (and add protein!) and a frozen banana for good measure. No added sugar is necessary (ever). Vanilla is definitely my favorite flavor to add to smoothies. Fun fact- did you know that a cup of Yoplait Greek 100 Vanilla has 13g of protein in it. YASSSS.

Talk about a tropical party in your mouth. Seriously, this smoothie is on point. That citrus, though. In general this smoothie is a great healthy snack and an easy way to get a serving of fruit AND vegetables in. We all know we could use a little more of those in our lives.

Basic Ingredients for Cold Busting Smoothie

banana
Yoplait Greek
blueberries
spinach
orange juice
ice

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This post is sponsored by Yoplait. I was compensated and all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Fit Foodie Finds!

Cold-Busting Smoothie

Author: Sandra
Total Time: 10 minutes

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Instructions

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and mix until smooth.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/2
Calories: 286
Sugar: 35
Sodium: 113
Fat: 1
Carbohydrates: 54
Fiber: 5
Protein: 18

BBQ Quinoa Turkey Burgers with Spiralized Apples

February 22, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

BBQ Quinoa Turkey Burgers with Spiralized Apples

Make these delicious BBQ quinoa turkey burgers with just 6 main ingredients. Dress it up with all the fixins’ (including spiralized apples!) for a delicious high-protein meal.

Over the past few weeks, Blake has been home in Kansas, so it’s been just me here holding down the fort. I remember before I started dating Blake, I would rarely include meat into my meals. I thought it was too expensive and too many calories.

BOYYY have times changed. I eat meat every single day and I actually crave it as part of my diet! I enjoy ground turkey, chicken breast, and bison the best, but pretty much enjoy it all!

I thought I would make a burger that mixes meat with one of my all time favorite foods – quinoa! Why? The extra protein and texture…duh!

I, of course, used my new favorite kitchen hack tutorial —> how to microwave quinoa. It saves so much time! In this recipe, I am using FFF partner, Ancient Harvest’s Traditional Quinoa. This is by far my favorite variation because it has the best texture and its just classic.

Inside of the burger I mixed together…

ground turkey
cooked quinoa
organic bbq sauce
oat flour
salt and pepper

No egg was needed to hold these guys together!

Get excited for the toppings I used on this burger.

The main star is obviously spiralized apple. It pairs PERFECTLY with the BBQ flavors and adds a hint of sweetness and crunch. I also added some raw onion, kale, and avocado for good measure.

Basic Ingredients for turkey quinoa burgers

turkey meat
Ancient Harvest Traditional Quinoa, cooked
organic BBQ sauce
ground oat flour
minced garlic
onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings: raw kale, avocado, raw red onion, organic bbq sauce, and spiralized apple

I picked up some bakery buns from a local grocery store- Jerry’s Foods. It’s my favorite! Their bakery section is always the best AND they really do have the best meat in the Twin Cities, if you ask me! See more healthy recipes

BBQ Quinoa Turkey Burgers with Spiralized Apples

Author: Sandra
Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

1 lb. organic turkey meat
½ cup Ancient Harvest Traditional Quinoa, cooked
2 tablespoons organic BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons ground oat flour
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings: raw kale, avocado, raw red onion, organic bbq sauce, and spiralized apple

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375ºF and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Then, place patties on baking sheet and bake at 375º for 24-28 minutes, or until cooked all the way though. Flip the patties at the 15 minute mark.

Heat grill to about 400ºF. Clean and spray the grates with nonstick cooking spray. Grill patties for about 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked all the way through.

Serve with raw kale, avocado, red onion, organic bbq sauce and sprialized apple.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Nutrition

Calories: 214
Sugar: 1g
Fat: 9g
Carbohydrates: 10g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 24g

15 Superfood Bowl Recipes

February 22, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Superfood Bowl Recipes

You guys know that I love to eat meals that are quick, easy, and healthy. Insert superfood bowls. Most of the time I don’t make them look as pretty as all of the photos on FFF because when I’m hungry, I’m hungry, which means waiting 5 extra minutes to make it look pretty just isn’t in the cards 😛

Most of the ingredients I throw in my superfood bowls are whole ingredients that I have in the fridge that need to be used (ie: cooked quinoa, taco meat, roasted veggies, raw veggies, etc.). Often times you can catch me turning left-overs into a whole new superfood meal, as well! Thus, superfood bowls in all forms (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are my jam. Throw everything in a bowl and boom chicka- you’ve got yourself a meal.

Need healthy recipe inspiration? Check out these 15 Superfood Bowl Recipes for different meal combinations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

So many other reasons to dig Superfood Bowl Recipes…

They’re great for meal prep
You can mix and match any ingredients
They are extremely kid friendly
There are endless options
Clean-up is pretty dang easy

Superfood Taco Bowl by Fit Foodie Finds

Citrus Breakfast Bowl from half baked harvest

Vegetarian Brown Rice Bowl from Fit Foodie Finds

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake

February 22, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake

Protein smoothie turned decadent treat? I think yes.

I’ve been really in to smoothie drinking ever since I started my recipe creation partnership with Designer Whey (through Fitfluential) about 8 months ago. Each month I create 4 recipes for DW, 2 of which are smoothies (yes, I am compensated). They sent me about 8 giant jugs of Designer Whey Protein Powder to work with, so I literally put it in everything.

You’d never guess that the base of this smoothie is frozen banana. The Dark Chocolate DW Protein Powder mixed with finely ground cocoa powder and a touch of peppermint extract, takes this protein smoothie to the next level.

On top I made some homemade whipping cream, by just whipping cream with my hand mixer. I then shaved some dark chocolate on top for a little more oomph.

As 2013 comes to a close I wanted to re-share some of my favorite DW recipes that I have done throughout 2013. Disclaimer: I was NOT compensated for this post, I am sharing these recipes because I WANT to.

Basic Ingredients Dark Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake

1 large banana, frozen
2-3 large ice cubes
1 cup non dairy milk of choice
1 scoop Designer Whey Gourmet Chocolate Protein Powder
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (high quality)
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
optional add In: 1 tablespoon dark/vegan chocolate chips optional
toppings: homemade whipping cream, vegan whipped topping, or Greek yogurt

How to make Dark Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake

Place all ingredients in a blender or magic bullet and blend until smooth.

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Dark Chocolate Peppermint Protein Shake

Author: Sandra
Total Time: 5 minutes

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Ingredients

-1 large banana, frozen
-2-3 large ice cubes
-1 cup non dairy milk of choice
-1 scoop Designer Whey Gourmet Chocolate Protein Powder
-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (high quality)
-Pinch of sea salt
-1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
-optional add In: 1 tablespoon dark/vegan chocolate chips optional
-toppings: homemade whipping cream, vegan whipped topping, or Greek yogurt

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender or magic bullet and blend until smooth.